General Assembly of the Association of Towns Awarded the Europe Prize
09.06.2022
On June 9, 2022, at the seat of the Council of Europe, the meeting of the General Assembly of Cities awarded the Europe Prize was held.
The president of the Association and the president of the city of Częstochowa, Mr. Krzysztof Matyjaszczyk, emphasized that the exchange of experiences and good practices, e.g. in the field of combating the pandemic, will help local government members participating in the discussion to be more effective in meeting the needs of their residents. He also added that the common position on peace in Ukraine showed unity in the pursuit of respect and in promoting the values on which the functioning of the EU is based.
In the opening session of the meeting, amb. Jerzy Baurski, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to the Council of Europe participated in the discussion. In his speech, the Ambassador pointed out that Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine requires unconditional solidarity and empathy more than ever in the history of the Organization. The Permanent Representative added that the Europe Prize is, on the one hand, a distinction and, on the other hand, a commitment to act with greater intensity in these difficult times for Europe.
During two sessions, representatives of cities with recognized track record in promoting European values debated on the war in Ukraine and the effects of the pandemic on the cities. In the discussion attended representatives of Ukrainian cities: Mr. Ihor Terekhov (mayor of Kharkiv), Mr. Oleksandr Symchyshyn (mayor of Khmelnytsky) and Mr. Ruslan Marcinkiw (mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk). The perspective of self-government in helping war refugees was presented by Mr. Krzysztof Stanowski (director of the Center for International Cooperation in Lublin). After the official part, the participants of the event from Austria, Germany, France, Spain and Turkey, together with the representatives of the Youth Forum, continued the exchange of experiences at the seat of the Permanent Representation of Poland to the Council of Europe.
Among the invited guests were the chairman of the Subcommittee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for the Europa Prize, Ms. Carmen Leyte and the deputy mayor of the city of Strasbourg, Ms. Véronique Bertholle.
The Association of Cities awarded the Europe Prize has been existing since 1984. The Europe Prize was established in 1955 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to honour cities that were particularly active in promoting European ideals by partnering with other European cities and organizing European events and visit exchanges. To apply for the Award, municipalities must first apply for three other separate awards in the following order: the European Diploma, The Flag of Honor and the Plaque of Honor.
As yet, five Polish cities have received the Europe Award: Częstochowa (1998), Gdynia (2002), Katowice (2008), Słupsk (2014), and Lublin (2017).
The city of Izmir is the winner of the 2022 Europe Prize. Congratulations! Tebrikler Türkiye!
